I took the first chance I got to hold an emergency meeting with the medical staff after the influx of patients had slowed down. I gathered them in the medical bay where the victim's body was still laying on the medberth, waiting until everyone had settled before beginning. "I'm sure you're all happy to have a break from work, but I've brought all of you here because there has been a serious incident." I began, scanning over the medics and nurses before gesturing to the body before me. "Not too long ago, I discovered this corpse in the storage room. It had been purposely hidden, only to be found because of the smell it was giving off. Now, someone give me a quick overview of this mech's injuries."

A young medic raised his servo and stepped forwards, the others making room for him so he could stand next to the medberth. He studied the corpse for a moment with narrowed optics before looking up at me. "Based solely on the body's physical appearance, there is extensive trauma to their upper torso and cranium. If we looked deeper, which I'm sure you already have, we would see massive internal trauma and bleeding. I believe they were crushed, Doctor." The mech finished with a confident nod.

I nodded in confirmation, smiling just the slightest bit at the mech before regaining my stoic composure. "And you're right. Upon further examination with a special light, I discovered the origin of the mech's death: the lift in the storage room." I paused for a moment when a few medics gasped softly in shock. "The damage to their cranium suggests that they received blunt force trauma to the head before they were crushed by the lift, which means that we, ladies and gentlemechs, have a case of murder in our facility."

A few louder gasps of shock and hushed whispers filled the silent air once I announced my conclusion. Some of the medics didn't want to believe it. They were looking at me like I had three heads! I could tell that many of them were disturbed by this news, their fear evident on their faceplates. If I was being honest, I was a bit scared as well. Something this serious had happened under my watch and I didn't even know about it!

"What do we do now, Ratchet? You're the CMO here, you're in charge!" A medic piped up, quieting the others with his prominent voice.

I thought for a moment, placing one hand on my chin. What were we going to do? I had never handled a murder case before without officials present. "It is my duty as Chief Medical Officer to keep this hospital and its residents safe and working properly. The best course of action right now until I can get the officials involved is to keep an optic out for any suspicious activity. If you happen to witness anything suspicious, report it directly to me and I will keep a log of information. Do not try to handle things on your own, even if you think you can. Always report to me first. Does everyone understand?" A jumble of agreements filled the room and I nodded. "Alright then. Thank you all for your time, you may return to your stations. I will keep you updated on what happens from here on out. Please, stay safe."

I watched them filter out of the room, talking amongst themselves. Once they were gone and the room was silent again, I sighed and looked down at the corpse laying before me. His face was locked in an expression of horror and pain, the emotions he felt the very moment he died preserved by his facial expression. It sent shivers down my backstrut and I had to turn away for a moment. Once I had gathered myself, I began cleaning the body and preparing to put it in the morgue. In the back of my mind, I just knew there was going to be more victims. But my stubborn spark refused to believe that despite the fact that a war was going on and anything was fair game. There were no limits on those who loved to spill the energon of innocent bots. The laws of war didn't apply to them, war crimes didn't mean a thing to them.

They just kept taking more and more lives. I wouldn't let that happen. Not in my hospital. I was going to put an end to this before it got worse. But...where do I start?

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Heyyyyy, I finally updated this book!
I dunno when I'll update it again, my update schedule is all wacky 😂

Hope you liked the chapter!